Impostor Syndrome

Russell Landwehr · Post by **Russell Landwehr** » Sat May 21, 2016 11:37 am

I never knew there was a term for it until I stumbled upon this in another forum.

Impostor Syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

Also called "Fraud Syndrome"

Basically it means you feel that you aren't as good as people seem to think you are.
It's my biggest struggle. And it could also be a big reason that successful people strive so hard at what they do... to succeed enough to keep from being exposed as a fraud.

What I see as the most terrible-est part of this comes if you dwell on this "fear" too much. As you know, that which you dwell on becomes reality. And dwelling on these feelings can manifest in reality if our subconscious causes us to perform poorly so that our fears can be proved correct.

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"

arrrrrgh!

But I guess it's better than the Dunning-Kruger Effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E ... ger_effect

Russell Landwehr

ochaim · Post by **ochaim** » Sat May 21, 2016 12:10 pm

Excuse me if this is blunt but one of these days you're just going to have to come to terms with this and accept your awesomeness.

Russell Landwehr · Post by **Russell Landwehr** » Sat May 21, 2016 12:25 pm

ochaim wrote:Excuse me if this is blunt but one of these days you're just going to have to come to terms with this and accept your awesomeness.

OH I fell on the floor!

Len911 · Post by **Len911** » Sat May 21, 2016 4:39 pm

Probably the only reason humans have survived is because we have a brain that is able to carry out elaborate schemes of deception, including self-deception.

And imagination to invent tools.

I don't think we could outrun any of our possible predators, couldn't survive naked in the slightest temperature variance. A pack of chihuahuas would win all the marathons. A chimp is stronger than our strongest strongman. And jumps without a pole, I don't know, a german shepherd,lol!

Imposter Syndrome isn't really anything but a coined term, with assurances that it wasn't a mental illness or personality disorder. And only affected highly skilled individuals, mainly women. The only research seems to be surveys. Sounds very similar to "false modesty".

Highly skilled. What does that supposed to mean?? Imaginary or real. A highly skilled surgeon proves his/her skill by first of all, not killing someone, and secondly accomplishing the task of what was intended. I can't imagine a highly skilled surgeon ever having imposter syndrome!

To Graham, here in the US, we see the UK tradition of modesty as being false modesty. They truly believe they are the superior, unlike the US that keeps saying we're superior, hoping that if we say it enough times will make it true,lol!

Every day I wonder how I'm deceiving myself,lol! But other than for purposes of amusement what does it really matter?

Every time I post in the forum, I wonder if I'm actually being useful, or just boasting somehow, or being an a-hole.

Does a narcissist need everyone to know that they are superior, or does a narcissist not care what everyone thinks because they are all inferior? Or is there even such a thing as narcissism?

Maybe everyone is a narcissist? ughh

Every individual is an important part of a one world, one tribe.

cassmcentee · Post by **cassmcentee** » Sat May 21, 2016 4:55 pm

Len911 wrote:Every individual is an important part of a one world, one tribe.

Exactly! I had a long walk the other day thinking about people's fear of failure...
My conclusion, acknowledge my God given individuality...
Continue doing what I do, with purpose...
...and sleep well at night!

funsongs · Post by **funsongs** » Sat May 21, 2016 6:24 pm

For what it's worth - I found that meeting some of my "Taxi heroes"... face-to-face at the bar/lounge,
at my first Road Rally - hanging out with other music-makers... kinda had the simple affect of realizing we're on the same field of play;
and my heroes are just real people, too.

And when my daughter showed up to see what I was 'into'... I got to walk her around to meet some of the peeps - kinda bragging on each one:
"that guy does this; that one over there can do that; check out all these 'rock stars'... having fun with their passion for music..."
etc. etc. etc.
It's a journey to be enjoyed most - together,with others... you folks.
My 2 cents, Russell.

NaeDae · Post by **NaeDae** » Sat May 21, 2016 11:17 pm

Most of the people here aren't pros by any means. They're just people who make music in their basements obsessively trying to get placed in commercials haha. The only qualification to be a part of this community is that you sign up for an account on the forums.

Len911 · Post by **Len911** » Sun May 22, 2016 1:30 am

NaeDae wrote:Most of the people here aren't pros by any means. They're just people who make music in their basements. The only qualification to be a part of this community is that you sign up for an account on the forums.

I've been exposed! I don't know about most people, but you certainly described me to a T.

And I'm not being sarcastic, one of the side effects of Zoloft is that I've not only lost my anxiety, but sarcasm as well,lol!

You do make a great point! I've been trying to learn using the internet. Sometimes though when I begin to understand something, I wonder if the internet isn't bs and everyone reinforces and parrots the bs. And I've been guilty of parroting the same bs! My only consolation is that I haven't profited off the bs, though that seems like very little consolation.

otoh, humans are "masters of deception", so it's only natural I suppose. By questioning everything, you will probably get closer to the truth. But then it is said (Thomas Reid), that humans are naturally trusting!

NoizeeBhoy · Post by **NoizeeBhoy** » Sun May 22, 2016 5:24 am

Telefunkin wrote:Wow Russ,
whereas our UK national trait is modesty.

... Except of course when it comes to football, sports, Eurovision, Oscars, Golden Globes when not winning is invariably reduced to geo-politics or an anti-colonial gripe rather than the fact everyone else IS better and more talented.....

On a serious note though impostor syndrome - whether for a musician or any other professional or aspiring wannabee- is truly crippling. It can of course help drive people on as alluded to but the emotional impact can really wear a erson down. On the other side I know some very talentless people who suffer from DUNNING-kRUGER SYNDROME FO'SURE - EVEN WHEN THEY LOOK AT THEIR OWN VIDS AND LISTEN TO THEIR OWN TRACKS THEY ARE SEEING/HEARING SOMETHING OTHERS CLEARLY AREN'T. i DUNNO WHICH IS WORSE REALLY - HAVING AN ABUNDANCE OF TALENT BUT LACKING THE CONFIDENCE TO RECOGNISE IT OR BEING COMPLETELY DEVOID OF IT AND FAILING TO SEE THE REALITY OF THE SITU! (PS i realised I just left capslock on by accident but I'm too lay to re-type - my apologies!)

eeoo · Post by **eeoo** » Sun May 22, 2016 9:57 am

I've always found that the overwhelming majority of people I admire and I think are totally overflowing with talent don't feel that way about themselves. It's usually kind of a "the more you know, the more you know you don't know" mentality and because of that they have a certain humility.

I've always liked this Bukowski quote:
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”

And yes, I often get that fear of being exposed as a fraud...

EO

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